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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26579380">More Than Sand</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicedGold/pseuds/SpicedGold'>SpicedGold</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Nara Family [27]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Deserts are amazing places, F/M, Happy birthday Shikamaru, suna</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:01:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,498</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26579380</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicedGold/pseuds/SpicedGold</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Shikamaru is stuck in Suna for his birthday. He uses the time to learn a bit more about the Sand Village, a lot more about Temari, and one important thing about himself.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gaara &amp; Kankurou &amp; Temari, Nara Shikamaru/Temari</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Nara Family [27]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1160966</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>247</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. 21 September</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thanks, reilynn, for help with the idea, and for putting up with my tendency to talk about ducks.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sandstorms, Shikamaru discovered, were loud.</p>
<p>He could hear the wind howling outside, and he sent an uneasy glance at the window of the Kazekage’s office.</p>
<p>Gaara noticed him looking. “It’ll settle down soon for the day.”</p>
<p>“How long do storms like this usually last?” Shikamaru’s team was supposed to have left Suna early that morning, but the storm had closed the border, and he was sitting in Gaara’s office finalizing travel plans and wondering how he was meant to get home.</p>
<p>“It depends,” Gaara said cryptically. “Could be a few days. This one might end tonight.”</p>
<p>He sat back in his chair. “Your team can stay until it’s safe to leave. It won’t be more than another three days.”</p>
<p>Shikamaru sighed. “Troublesome. But okay.”</p>
<p>“Trust me, you want to wait it out,” Gaara said. “The wind will dry up any water, and the sand will basically eat you alive.”</p>
<p>Before Shikamaru could respond to that horrifying imagery, Temari flung the door to the office open and stalked inside, shaking sand from her hair. “Wind’s dying down a bit, but the border patrol team says they can still see the storm on the East side, so no travel in that direction for a while longer.”</p>
<p>“Are all our shinobi back in the village?” Gaara asked.</p>
<p>Temari scrubbed some more sand from her bangs. “Yeah, we’re fine. I’ve just dumped Shikamaru’s team at their hotel.”</p>
<p>“I’ll join them in a minute,” Shikamaru said.</p>
<p>“Nope,” Temari shook her head. “You’re coming home with me.”</p>
<p>“I am?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” she threw Gaara a glance, and he gave her a small nod. “We haven’t had any time to ourselves while you’ve been here.”</p>
<p>“I guess I can visit you for a while.” He was slightly nervous. He still had no idea what Gaara thought of him and Temari dating. Kankuro seemed fine with it, but for some reason what Gaara thought felt more important.</p>
<p>Temari, however, was unconcerned. “Great. Are you finished, Gaara?”</p>
<p>“Yes, we’re done,” Gaara stood up from behind his desk. “We can go home.”</p>
<p>Suna was still enrobed in sand-encrusted wind, and Shikamaru just ducked his head down against it and hoped Temari didn’t lead him off a cliff, because he was following her blindly. It felt like a long journey from the Kazekage building to her house, but he knew for a fact that it was barely ten minutes in good weather.</p>
<p>It was only once he was through the door, and the howling wind was shut away, that he dared to draw in a proper breath of air. Temari smacked some sand out of his hair. “That wind should slow down soon.”</p>
<p>“Not soon enough,” he grumbled. He spent a few minutes dusting himself off, and trying to get the sand out of his ears, before Temari made an annoyed growl and hauled him to the couch.</p>
<p>“Don’t be so dramatic, it’s just a bit of sand.”</p>
<p>“Hey, we brought Shadows home,” Kankuro shouted jovially from the floor, with a puppet in pieces.</p>
<p>“Hi,” Shikamaru greeted, before being forcibly placed on the couch, so Temari could sit right beside him, and throw a leg possessively over his lap. He traced absent patterns on her thigh.</p>
<p>Gaara sat opposite him, and they quietly discussed the reasons for the team from Konoha visiting, and other safe topics like work and the weather, and Shikamaru was surprised by how relaxed the atmosphere seemed. He expected more tension, what with Temari practically in his lap, and Kankuro sending her sideways looks all the time.</p>
<p>The background noise of wind died down eventually, and Shikamaru chanced looking at the window. It seemed peaceful outside, and the shadows were growing longer.</p>
<p>“I should probably get going,” he said.</p>
<p>“You can stay here,” Temari said, and Kankuro and Gaara both looked at her with identical surprised expressions. She glared at them, daring them to contradict her.</p>
<p>Shikamaru was caught between them. He hesitated. “Um . . . maybe I should just stay with my team . . . I am in charge of them, after all.”</p>
<p>“They won’t be going anywhere,” Temari rolled her eyes. “They’re just sitting around. And if they want to go out, there’s a guard around to go with them. Stay with me.”</p>
<p>Shikamaru sent a glance to Gaara. He wasn’t sure, on a scale of one to dating the Kazekage’s sister, where this situation landed. And while he was very familiar with Gaara-The-Kazekage, he wasn’t as certain about Gaara-Temari’s-Baby-Brother, who used to be a shameless serial killer.</p>
<p>But Gaara said nothing, and Shikamaru felt himself relax a fraction.</p>
<p>“Okay,” he said, and it seemed worth it when Temari’s face lit up.</p>
<p>Kankuro rolled his eyes, and left the room while dragging his puppet behind him, and after a few minutes, Gaara excused himself as well, leaving Temari and Shikamaru to stare at each other. There were little grains of sand clinging to the blonde of her hair, and Shikamaru wanted to brush them away.</p>
<p>“Did you have any plans for your birthday?” Temari asked. “Sorry you’re stuck here, by the way.”</p>
<p>“No plans,” he said. “Was going to just relax and avoid everyone. So being here works out okay.”</p>
<p>“No clouds to watch,” Temari pointed out.</p>
<p>“No,” he agreed. “That’s a bit disappointing, I’ll admit, but,” he gave in, fingers reaching up to gently pull the sand from her hair, “I can learn about you and Suna.”</p>
<p>She smiled at him. “I’ll show you all the best things about this village.”</p>
<p>“I’ve seen the best thing,” he replied. “You’ll have to show me the other things.”</p>
<p>“You two are disgusting,” Kankuro said from the doorway, and Temari threw him a glare.</p>
<p>“Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”</p>
<p>“Now I do, because if I stay here I’ll die of second hand embarrassment over your mushiness.” Kankuro gave Shikamaru an appraising look. “She’s not this sappy when you’re not around.”</p>
<p>Shikamaru had no idea what he was supposed to say to that, but he didn’t get a chance to think of anything, because Temari was up on her feet and yanking him up next to her. “Come with me.”</p>
<p>“Where?”</p>
<p>She dragged him towards the front door, and Gaara popped his head out of his study to see what was happening.</p>
<p>“We’re going out to watch the sunset,” Temari called.</p>
<p>“Be careful,” Gaara cautioned. “The sandstorm might not be over yet.”</p>
<p>“I’ll manage,” Temari said dismissively.</p>
<p>“Don’t get distracted and stop paying attention to the desert,” Gaara continued. “You know how fast storms come in.”</p>
<p>“It’s a sandstorm, Gaara,” Temari pointed out. “Which means it’s just a ton of wind. I can handle the wind. I can move the whole damn storm if I wanted to.”</p>
<p>“Can you?” Shikamaru asked, suddenly feeling hopelessly breathless at the idea.</p>
<p>“Well, yeah, if I had to,” Temari shrugged. “It’s hard, but not impossible.”</p>
<p>Whatever she did, she must have been shifting the wind around him, because Shikamaru felt like he couldn’t breathe. He was too busy imagining the raw power she would need to change the course of the wind and the dunes themselves, and he suddenly felt like he was out of his depth and underwater drowning.</p>
<p>He had never felt so out of his league before.</p>
<p>“Let’s go,” Temari brushed off his gaping wonderment, jerking her head towards the door.</p>
<p>He managed to summon the wherewithal to follow her.</p>
<p>“It’s not far to get a good view,” she said, marching easily along the streets, taking a direct and dodgy looking route towards the border wall. “What do you usually do at home, for your birthday?”</p>
<p>“Sleep and avoid Ino,” he answered, because that had been his intention, although Suna’s unpredictable weather had put paid to the former. He found himself labouring to keep up with her, and once they hit the thick sand just outside the village gates, he slowed to a near crawl.</p>
<p>It did not go unnoticed.</p>
<p>“Come on,” Temari shouted over her shoulder, “Why are you so slow?”</p>
<p>Sand was near impossible to walk over. He sunk down to mid-calf, and slid backwards, and it honestly felt like he was walking in place, while Temari skipped ahead like the terrain wasn’t absolute hell to stand on. The sand burned as well; he could feel sharp pinpricks of pain every time it came near his skin.</p>
<p>He was going to die just making this trip to watch the sun set.</p>
<p>“God, stop making that face, and move,” she huffed. “Walking is not that hard.”</p>
<p>“Easy for you to say,” he wheezed. “You’re used to it.”</p>
<p>The sunlight was already fading, and Temari looked impatient. He let out a breath, and shuffled after her, vaguely thinking that he shouldn’t be this willing to wander into the desert. “How much further?”</p>
<p>“The best dunes to watch the sunset are south of here,” Temari explained. “But further away, and we can’t go too far in case the storm picks up again.”</p>
<p>Closer sounded better; walking over sand was exhausting. He didn’t know how she could fly ahead of him as though the ground were firm and supportive. He could feel the hot desert air burning in his lungs, and sweat was starting to trickle down his neck and forehead. Temari looked pristine.</p>
<p>It was both unfair and horribly in character for her.</p>
<p>Eventually, with his legs aching and his throat dry, Shikamaru managed to stumble to her side on the crest of a dune, and nearly pitch right over it and fall on his face. He had yet to find the appeal in the desert, which Temari spoke so passionately about.</p>
<p>Once he had gathered up enough energy to make his vision stop swimming, he straightened up properly and looked at the view. The dune they were on stood fairly high – Shikamaru was well aware of that – and it meant that the desert was laid below them in gently undulating waves of crisp brown sand, the shadows growing long and reaching towards him.</p>
<p>The sky was a wave of colour. From inky black to midnight blue, then grey to yellow, and the vibrant red-orange that kissed the horizon. It was an amazing sight to see, and the warmth of the sand was comforting as he could feel the air around him starting to cool slightly.</p>
<p>“It’s beautiful,” he said. Konoha didn’t have sunsets like this. Not ones that struck right through you.</p>
<p>He chanced a glance sideways at Temari. She was smiling softly at the lowering sun, the low light throwing dark shadows into her eyes that made them gleam almost blue. Shikamaru hesitated, before reaching his hand out for hers, gently entangling their fingers. She didn’t pull away, just briefly turned that soft smile on him, and then back at the sunset.</p>
<p>He could have stood there with her forever. And it surprised him how right the silence felt. They didn’t need to speak. They didn’t need to do anything except exist, and he gripped her hand firmly, and let the warmth surround him, and could see a small glimpse of what made the desert so special.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The air was cooling by the time they returned home, and the wind was starting to pick up again, making little mini dust tornadoes scattered throughout the streets.</p>
<p>He hadn’t let go of Temari’s hand yet, enjoying the feeling of being connected to her, and he found it was helpful for traversing the dunes, because no matter what he did, he still sunk right through the sand, and every step was agonizingly difficult.</p>
<p>Temari shook his hand free to open the door, and then ushered Shikamaru into her bedroom.</p>
<p>He had never been inside her room before.</p>
<p>Temari seemed not to think it a significant event, and casually hurled her fan towards a corner of the room, and then raised an eyebrow at him as he looked around.</p>
<p>The little dressing table was cluttered with stuff, and he wanted to take a closer look, wondering what all she had there, but she was already rolling her eyes and grabbing his wrist and pulling him to the window. He looked obligingly out, at rooftops and an expanse of sky that was filled with more stars than he had ever seen before.</p>
<p>“See that tower there?” she pointed.</p>
<p>“Yeah.”</p>
<p>“I can see the messenger hawks flying to it,” she explained. “And I know what the Konoha hawks look like.”</p>
<p>“You watch for my letters?” He blinked at her, struck by the image of her waiting at the window, waiting to hear from him. It made something hot bloom inside his chest, hotter than the desert had been.</p>
<p>“If I know they’re coming.” She smiled softly. “I can see the sky when I’m sitting at my desk, so I can work and watch for hawks, if I’m at home.”</p>
<p>He didn’t know what to say to that. He just stared at her, feeling somewhat like the floor had been knocked out from under him. It was . . . magical, almost, to hear her as invested in their relationship as he was. There were sometimes moments when he felt his affections were one-sided, because Temari was used to concealing her feelings, and didn’t give him much back emotionally.</p>
<p>He tucked the thought away in his heart, that they were together on everything, and pushed down his growing feelings under a secret little smile. Maybe this sandstorm was the best thing that had happened to him in a while.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>They returned to the lounge to sprawl onto the couch and talk the evening away.</p>
<p>Kankuro was sitting on the floor again with a bunch of little bottles and needles spread around him.</p>
<p>“He’s just restocking all his poisons,” Temari said dismissively, stepping right through the middle of Kankuro’s equipment – which seemed like a daring move to Shikamaru. He wasn’t going to stand barefoot on piles of needles and blades that he knew for a fact were coated in poison.</p>
<p>Carefully, he edged past Kankuro.</p>
<p>Kankuro grinned at him, three senbon between his teeth. “Hey, Shadows, how was the sunset?”</p>
<p>“It was gorgeous,” he admitted, not caring if he sounded like a dork. Temari pushed him down onto the couch first, so she could flop half on top of him, and Gaara appeared soon after cradling a mug of tea, and finally looking his age wearing loose pants and a faded grey t-shirt. He sat down on the other end of the couch, posture relaxing, barely sending Shikamaru a glance.</p>
<p>It was a little surreal seeing all three siblings in such a relaxed environment. He was still getting used to seeing Kankuro with no paint on his face, and his curly brown hair in a mess on his head, and it was equally strange to see Gaara dressed so casually and looking so relaxed, just watching his brother and occasionally stretching a leg out to nudge Kankuro’s things around.</p>
<p>Most interesting, of course, was Temari, who had sprawled over him, her head on the armrest, back across his lap, and her legs pulled up onto the couch. He was trying not to stare at her legs, lightly tanned and largely flawless except for one slightly discoloured scar he could see on the inside of her knee, and he knew she had another scar on the inside of one ankle. He’d seen her in less, but in those times she didn’t allow him to spend the length of time he liked studying her. She had other goals in mind.</p>
<p>Shikamaru occupied himself with running his fingers through Temari’s hair and examining the room around him, trying hard not to stare at her, while she chattered happily with Kankuro. Gaara added bits here and there, but was mostly silent.</p>
<p>Shikamaru studied the things on the coffee table – an odd assortment of books and weapons and the occasional item of clothing.</p>
<p>The little pile of books was intriguing. There were mostly history books – one on Suna, one on puppeteering, one on weaponry – but at the top of the pile was a battered looking collection of fairy tales.</p>
<p>Shikamaru caught himself staring at it, wondering why it was there.</p>
<p>Gaara must have noticed, because he said suddenly, “We like to read it.”</p>
<p>“What, the fairy tales?” Kankuro snapped his head up. “Oh, yeah. We used to read it all the time as kids.”</p>
<p>It still seemed odd, that they had the book just . . . out. Where anyone could see it. “Okay.”</p>
<p>“It’s all stories about Suna,” Temari said. “You could read it. You can learn about Suna from it.”</p>
<p>“Do you have a favourite story?” Shikamaru asked.</p>
<p>“My favourite was always the trickster bird,” Temari said, crossing one leg over the other.</p>
<p>“Why?”</p>
<p>“As a kid, I liked the moral behind it. Now,” she grinned at him. “It means something a bit different to me.”</p>
<p>He was going to have to read it, then, and see why she liked it. The more he learnt about her, the more he wanted to know. She was the most interesting puzzle he had ever had to figure out. And it was interesting to see that the sweet, sentimental side of her was not exclusive to her, but gripped both Gaara and Kankuro as well.</p>
<p>He loved getting to see them as a family, getting to know all the different sides of her that he wouldn’t usually get to see. The more he learned, the more he loved her, and the more he wanted to spend time with her.</p>
<p><em>You’re in trouble</em>, he thought, as he idly combed through her hair. Because this moment felt like the kind of moment he wanted as normal, and it frightened him a bit to think about what that implied. He wanted hundreds of these moments, instead of just this one.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>He learnt one thing very quickly. Temari liked expensive things.</p>
<p>And he was never getting out of her bed again.</p>
<p>“These sheets feel like silk,” he mumbled, face buried in the pillow.</p>
<p>“Silk wears out too easily, with all the sand,” Temari said, smirking down at him. “It’s cotton.”</p>
<p>“Not any cotton I’ve ever felt.”</p>
<p>“Yours is cheap shit.”</p>
<p>“Your bed feels like a cloud. How do you ever find the motivation to leave it?”</p>
<p>“Because once the sun’s up, you’re going to die of heatstroke,” Temari patted his shoulder. “Trust me, you’ll get up.”</p>
<p>“I know I don’t take the whole ‘princess’ thing seriously, but damn, this feels like a bed for a king.”</p>
<p>“Yes, that’s my claim to royalty,” Temari said dryly. “The bedsheets.”</p>
<p>“I want these.”</p>
<p>“You can’t afford them.” She finally settled down beside him.</p>
<p>He draped an arm over her and pulled her close. Walking on the sand dunes had exhausted him, and he wanted nothing more than to just sleep. Having Temari right there in his arms was a bonus.</p>
<p>“Good night,” she murmured, seeing that he was rapidly beginning to lose consciousness.</p>
<p>He mumbled back a reply, frowning a bit when she laughed at him.</p>
<p>“Shh, woman, stop being troublesome.”</p>
<p>He snuggled up close to her, feeling perfectly content, finding himself soothed by the gentle wind outside and the way Temari let him press up close. It was easy to fall asleep with her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. 22 September</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>To Shikamaru’s surprise, Temari let him sleep in the next morning.</p>
<p>He woke up alone, feeling slightly lost for a moment in her bed before remembering where he was. He sat up, trying to gather his wits. The sun was already high, but that didn’t mean much to him. The sun seemed to forever be at its peak in Suna.</p>
<p>The clock told him it was after ten, and he slowly dragged himself out of bed. He didn’t get dressed right away, instead making a slow circle around Temari’s room and seeing all the things that made her who she was. The bookshelf on his side of the bed was cluttered with things – two shelves had books, one had an assortment of various items he was going to look at a bit closer, and the bottom shelf was stuffed with weapons and tools. It wasn’t perfectly organized, but it wasn’t untidy. There was a contained sensibility in her things.</p>
<p>The top shelf had things she had collected. He recognized a few things from Konoha, like the small paper fan she had found one day when they had been wandering and doing nothing but enjoying each other’s company. There was a small grey rock from Kiri, and a little snow globe from the Land of Iron. Shikamaru chuckled. He would have to ask about some of the other stuff.</p>
<p>He moved his gaze idly over the books. A lot of thick political texts took up space, but the shelf below seemed to be more personal. There were stories there, and he wondered what she liked to read. A few children’s books were wedged in haphazardly, which he supposed were books she hadn’t wanted to part with. There were a lot of books on flowers, and for a moment it startled him that she had them – she liked flowers?</p>
<p>It struck him as odd, that Temari – wild and brash and powerful – liked something as soft and delicate as flowers. And he didn’t know that about her, and he found himself suddenly wanting to know everything about her. He wanted to know all the secrets about her that she hadn’t told him, and he wanted to know all the things she liked, and he wanted to know why she liked flowers.</p>
<p>His father’s words echoed in his head, calmly informing him that this was perfectly normal.</p>
<p><em>Even tough women have a soft side</em> – and that made sense in his head, but it was still jarring that it applied to Temari because she wasn’t like other women.</p>
<p>She was <em>different</em>.</p>
<p>She was <em>special.</em></p>
<p>Shikamaru moved away from the bookshelf, passing the window on his way to the little dressing table that stood next to her desk. The desk wasn’t interesting; just neat stacks of papers and folders and books, and an assortment of writing utensils in a mug.</p>
<p>But the clutter on the dressing table was interesting to him. There was, puzzlingly, a tube of rose scented hand cream with hastily scrawled, bold letters over the label that screamed ‘Gaara NO’, and a very, very expensive looking silver necklace dotted with shiny stones, and he wondered where that had come from. He never saw her wearing jewellery.</p>
<p>There were several bottles of nail polish, but he knew that already. She liked painting her nails, and complained there was never any point to it because she couldn’t wear polish on missions. It chipped too easily. Shikamaru made a mental note to ask Ino what wizardry she used to keep her nails looking perfect all the time. Maybe Temari would appreciate the advice.</p>
<p>“Ah, you’re up.” Gaara’s voice came from the door, and Shikamaru whipped around to face him, panic seizing him for a moment before he remembered that he was, in fact, wearing clothes.</p>
<p>Gaara came into Temari’s room, going straight for the aforementioned ‘Gaara NO’ hand cream. “Sleep okay?”</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Shikamaru said, eying Gaara cautiously. “. . . Pretty sure she’s labelled it like that for a reason.”</p>
<p>“Hm,” Gaara studied him, making an unnervingly intense analysis of him as he stood awkwardly and wondered if he would live to the end of the day. “Temari and Kankuro have gone out together. To get food.”</p>
<p>“Okay.”</p>
<p>“They’ll be home in an hour or so.”</p>
<p>“Okay.”</p>
<p>Gaara finally tore his eyes off Shikamaru long enough to squeeze a dollop of hand cream into his palm, before carefully returning the tube to where it belonged.</p>
<p>Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. “You hide it well, but you’re just as weird as Kankuro.”</p>
<p>Gaara shrugged. “Temari brings a lot of nice smelling things into the house, and I like this one.” He kept his unreadable expression on Shikamaru. “The desert dries out your skin.”</p>
<p>“Don’t you have sand armour?”</p>
<p>“Not all the time.” Gaara turned to leave. Before he did, he paused, and said quietly, “There’s breakfast in the kitchen for you. And happy birthday.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Shikamaru heard Temari before he saw her. She was talking loudly with Kankuro, before they came through the front door, and he stood up from the couch to greet her, faltering a bit in place when he saw her. He was used to her in various kimonos, and he was used to her in Kankuro’s shirts, but he was not used to her dressed for an entire day off, in a pretty purple dress that fitted a bit closer than he was used to. There was a scarf draped over her arm that had obviously been around her shoulders earlier, to banish the chill of early morning until the sun warmed the desert once more, and it looked like it cost more than Shikamaru’s house.</p>
<p>She grinned when she saw him. “Happy birthday.”</p>
<p>“Thanks.”</p>
<p>“Have you eaten something?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, Gaara threw something at me.”</p>
<p>“Good. Then we don’t have to waste time.” She breezed past him towards her room. “I’m just putting some things down, and then we’re going to the street market.”</p>
<p>“Are we?” He followed her. It wasn’t even his idea; his body just automatically went wherever she went, like a magnet pull.</p>
<p>In her room, Temari flung the scarf towards her desk chair, and dumped a small purse on her dressing table, before taking a brief look in the mirror and running her fingers through her bangs. Absently, she straightened the necklace draped over the mirror, and Shikamaru felt compelled to ask about it.</p>
<p>“That necklace looks expensive.”</p>
<p>She shrugged. “It’s from the Wind Daimyo,” as though that were an answer.</p>
<p>He supposed it was. “Ever wear it?”</p>
<p>“Not really.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t look that good in silver.”</p>
<p>She looked amazing in anything, but he kept that thought to himself.</p>
<p>“Ready to go?” she asked.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m ready.”</p>
<p>She grabbed him by the hand, and Shikamaru stumbled slightly to keep up with her. She was a whirlwind at home, oozing confidence, and he decided he liked her like this. There was no pretense to her. There was no image to uphold, like in Konoha, where she had to always be playing the role of Suna’s Ambassador. This was the real Temari.</p>
<p>She shouted casually to her brothers as they swept past, and all Kankuro shouted back was, “If you’re late, I’m making supper myself!”</p>
<p>Temari snarled back at him as she slammed the front door, “Don’t you dare start without me!”</p>
<p>Shikamaru gave her a puzzled look as they began the walk away from her house. “Start what?”</p>
<p>“I’m cooking tonight,” Temari said, sending a slight glare over her shoulder, that wouldn’t have much effect since Kankuro couldn’t see it. “So he mustn’t start without me there. Otherwise he takes over.”</p>
<p>“You’re cooking?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I’m making you proper curry,” she flashed him a brilliant smile, and Shikamaru felt his heart stop for a moment. “The stuff you have in Konoha is knock-off crap.”</p>
<p>“Huh.”</p>
<p>They were approaching a wide street, with vendors lining both sides, and various shade cloths attempting to offer relief from the sun. The sand was packed down hard, and he could feel the relief in his calves at finally having firm ground to walk on. Maybe now he could keep up with her. She was exhausting on her home turf – constantly moving and changing directions, and out speeding him at every turn.</p>
<p>Temari didn’t give him much time to look around. She dragged him down the centre of the street, fingers warm around his wrist, until she decided they were at a suitable place to allow him to stop and get his bearings.</p>
<p>“You wanted to learn about Suna,” she said, gesturing theatrically at the street. “This is one of the best places to see.”</p>
<p>“And which is your favourite shop? Not counting anything to do with weapons or shinobi.”</p>
<p>Temari paused to think. “If it’s food related, I guess the spice shop. It’s interesting, and fun to try new things. If it’s not food . . .” She hesitated for a moment. “. . . I’m not sure. There are a few.”</p>
<p>“Then take me to see those,” Shikamaru said. “I want to see what you like.”</p>
<p>She did exactly that. She dragged him to a stall with different patterned fabrics, inviting him to feel the different textures, telling him about the fabrics she liked, the ones she commonly bought to be made into dresses, showed him what real silk felt like, told him that she preferred satin and velvet.</p>
<p>She showed him the flower stand, with plants all native to the desert. There were some beautiful cacti, in intriguing shapes that Shikamaru didn’t know plants could grow in, and tiny little seedlings that Gaara liked to collect and nurture.</p>
<p>There was a glass blower, and they sat and watched him work for a few minutes, and ended up asking for a little glass deer to be made, complete with a full set of antlers, that they wrapped up safely in wads of paper and tucked carefully into Shikamaru’s pocket.</p>
<p>Temari yanked him to see the beaded jewellery that she claimed was too fancy for her, and Shikamaru was thoroughly impressed with the intricate craftsmanship of some of the pieces, and ended up having a long conversation with the jeweller about the different beads and dyes, and the traditional ways in which they were made.</p>
<p>Finally, they stopped at a stall with dried fruit and nuts, and Temari showed him which were her favourites, and which were her brothers’ favourites, and they brought several bags of things, which Temari promised they would divide up and he could take some home with him.</p>
<p>They whiled away the rest of the afternoon wandering hand in hand, stopping occasionally to look at things that interested them, chatting amiably, greeting people that Temari knew. By the time the sun was setting, and they were almost home again, Shikamaru was starting to see how easy it was to fall for the desert.</p>
<p>It had its own presence, its own life, and it made the world look different.</p>
<p>They paused outside the front door, with the sun just gone down and the whole world in a hazy grey twilight, and Shikamaru felt a sudden rush of excitement that he didn’t have to say goodbye to her here. He was staying with her for another night, and maybe one after that, and for a fleeting and wild moment he thought maybe he could stay forever.</p>
<p>Especially if she kept looking at him like that, with shades of dark blue hiding in her eyes, and the first reflection of stars showing, and then she pulled him close for a kiss, and Shikamaru thought getting stranded in Suna was the best way he could have spent his birthday.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Shikamaru sat at the kitchen table while Temari cooked. Gaara was holed up in his study working, and the wind had picked up again and was whipping outside, not as powerful as before. Shikamaru could see the clear, star-studded sky out the window, and he wondered vaguely how often there were clouds in Suna.</p>
<p>Watching Temari was more interesting than watching clouds, though. He leaned his chin on his palm, and just gazed at her.</p>
<p>Kankuro hovered over her shoulder, getting in the way, moving things out of her reach when she asked for them, and just generally being a nuisance.</p>
<p>“You’re going to kill him,” Kankuro said. “That’s too much spice for him.”</p>
<p>“I know what I’m doing,” Temari said irritably. She smacked him away, but he came right back again once her hands were busy.</p>
<p>“He’s not going to be able to handle it.”</p>
<p>“Kankuro, fuck off.” She glanced over her shoulder at Shikamaru. “You won’t die from spicy food, will you?”</p>
<p>“Hope not.” He paused, before asking, “How come you’re so good at cooking?”</p>
<p>Kankuro answered without hesitation, “Because life was shit, and sometimes the only good thing in a day was a nice meal.”</p>
<p>“We grew up as killers,” Temari added. “It was nice to make good things.”</p>
<p>“Kinda kept us human,” Kankuro said. “And sane.”</p>
<p>“And sometimes Dad helped,” Temari said quietly, and Shikamaru stayed silent, waiting to see if she would add more. After a long pause, she continued, murmuring into the pot, “He’d hold me on his hip and let me stir in the spices, or open the coconuts.”</p>
<p>“I was allowed to cut the vegetables, if I promised not to throw knives,” Kankuro put in, in an equally soft tone. He and Temari shared a meaningful look, and Shikamaru sensed now was not a good time to ask more about their father, but someday, he wanted to know more about how Temari grew up.</p>
<p>Whatever moment was passing between the siblings faded fast, and in the next instant Kankuro was back to his usual cheerful self. “Are we using fresh coconuts?”</p>
<p>“No, we’ve got tins,” Temari said, gesturing vaguely at the fridge. “If Gaara didn’t drink it all.”</p>
<p>“Huh?” Shikamaru frowned.</p>
<p>“He likes coconut milk,” Kankuro provided. “Puts it in his coffee.”</p>
<p>“He drinks it straight from the tin,” Temari scoffed. “Like a weirdo.”</p>
<p>Shikamaru didn’t think it was fair to label Gaara as a weirdo, when all signs pointed to the three siblings being equally eccentric.</p>
<p>She sent Kankuro an exasperated look. “If you’re going to hang round, then be useful. Start the rice.”</p>
<p>“You’re not really giving him rice?” Kankuro scoffed. “Fuck off, Temari, do better. If you’re making that curry, you serve it with a proper flatbread. Geez, it’s like you’re trying to make him break up with you.”</p>
<p>“How many hands do you think I have? You think I can keep an eye on the curry and still make bread?”</p>
<p>“It takes ten minutes, just, ugh,” Kankuro rolled his eyes. “I’ll do it. You want him to have actual food from Suna; we’re going to do it right.”</p>
<p>He rolled up his sleeves, and muttered under his breath as he moved around the kitchen gathering supplies. Shikamaru missed most of what he was doing, because he was staring at Temari while she poked at the curry and twisted a hand in her hair.</p>
<p>Everything felt right. Seeing Temari not as a shinobi and not as a force to be reckoned with, but rather a person, as someone doing something as mundane as cooking, felt like the most normal thing in the world. Shikamaru felt like he belonged exactly where he was, with no pressure and no boundaries between them. He ached slightly at the notion that he would have to leave soon.</p>
<p>He made a point to push those thoughts away, though, and focus instead on the moment at hand, smiling softly as Temari fussed over Kankuro, and he ignored her. It seemed like the best plan was to stay quiet while they argued, and after a very loud discussion on plates, he found himself with a plate of curry and freshly fried flatbread, and Temari and Kankuro still bickering at each other.</p>
<p>It smelled very good. Shikamaru was studying the food, wondering why nothing at home ever smelt as appealing, when Kankuro slapped the table to get his attention.</p>
<p>“Make sure you chew the scorpions properly, or you’ll choke,” Kankuro said, and Shikamaru froze in place.</p>
<p>“There aren’t any scorpions,” Temari rolled her eyes. “Don’t listen to him.”</p>
<p>“You . . . eat . . . scorpions . . .?”</p>
<p>“All the time,” Kankuro said, in the same breath as Temari snapped, “No, we don’t.”</p>
<p>Shikamaru looked suspiciously at his food. He hadn’t signed up for eating terrifying poisonous desert bugs. Or whatever scorpions were.</p>
<p>“Stop teasing him,” Temari glared at Kankuro, before saying emphatically, “We do not eat scorpions.”</p>
<p>“Often,” Gaara put in, entering the room, expression deadpan.</p>
<p>Temari sent him an irritated look. “Don’t you start as well.”</p>
<p>“We’re just giving him fair warning,” Kankuro said, elbowing Temari in the side.</p>
<p>“Get out,” Temari snarled.</p>
<p>“I live here!” Kankuro defended.</p>
<p>Quietly, Gaara dished up a plate and left the kitchen, leaving Temari and Kankuro screaming at each other.</p>
<p>Shikamaru chose to ignore them, and, after carefully inspecting his food for scorpions, took a tentative bite.</p>
<p>And immediately decided no one in Konoha knew how to cook properly.</p>
<p>“This is awesome,” he said, causing an abrupt silence between Temari and Kankuro.</p>
<p>“Really?” Temari asked.</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Shikamaru nodded. “I mean, I feel like my tongue is dissolving-“</p>
<p>“Told you it was too spicy,” Kankuro put in snidely.</p>
<p>“- But it’s really good. And I promise I won’t die. Also, if I get all the spices, will you make this for me again when you’re in Konoha?”</p>
<p>Temari sat down opposite him, looking slightly surprised. “I’m glad you like it. And I’m not your personal chef.”</p>
<p>Her expression softened a bit, though, and somewhere in those few seconds while he was distracted by looking at her, Kankuro had left them alone.</p>
<p>“I could, though,” she said. “If you really wanted me to. But then you have to make me something traditional from Konoha.”</p>
<p>“All our food sucks compared to this.”</p>
<p>“I know. Get inventive.”</p>
<p>“Just to clarify,” Shikamaru said. “Do you or don’t you eat scorpions?”</p>
<p>“Not in the village. Sometimes out in the desert.”</p>
<p>He let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank god.”</p>
<p>“Anyway,” she continued, tone light, “they don’t taste good in curry. Crickets are much better.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The desert had cooled already, and Shikamaru was very happily cocooned in Temari’s bed, reveling in her amazing sheets, watching patiently as Temari finished brushing her hair. She put her brush down, standing up and approaching the bed slowly.</p>
<p>“I got you a present,” Temari said, suddenly shy.</p>
<p>Shikamaru blinked. “You did?”</p>
<p>“When Kankuro and I were at the market this morning.”</p>
<p>He scratched the back of his neck. “You didn’t have to.”</p>
<p>She shrugged casually. “It’s just something small.”</p>
<p><em>Rings were small</em>, his mind provided helpfully, but he banished that thought away, unwilling to deal with it right now. He sat up a bit straighter, as she slid into bed next to him, and handed him a rectangular object that was wrapped in the same sort of silky material as her sheets, and Shikamaru instantly decided he was coercing his mother into making him a pillow case with it when he got home.</p>
<p>He unwrapped it carefully, breaking into a smile when he uncovered it. It was a book of Suna’s fairy tales.</p>
<p>“I made some notes in it,” Temari said, snuggling up close to his shoulder. “So you can see which ones I like, and why.”</p>
<p>He opened the book, idly paging through, and sure enough he could see scrawled paragraphs of her handwriting at varied intervals, with arrows and diagrams. He read one of her notes, tapping his finger against it, “This true?”</p>
<p>She checked where he was pointing. <em>We live in the desert this fairy tale is based on!</em> “Yeah, that’s true.”</p>
<p>He turned his head to press a kiss to her hair. “Thank you.”</p>
<p>Better than learning about Suna and its stories was learning what Temari thought about them. He handed her the book with a smirk, and settled down, eyes closed.</p>
<p>“Read me the trickster bird,” he said. “I want to know why it’s your favourite.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The desert that stretched out in front of him looked lonelier than ever. Shikamaru turned back to Temari, wondering if this was how she felt on those days that she left Konoha.</p>
<p>“Travel safe,” she said, flicking her eyes to the sun, and back to him.</p>
<p>“I’ll be careful,” he assured.</p>
<p>His team milled a bit close for comfort, and he really wanted to tell them to get going without him and give him and Temari some privacy.</p>
<p>Well, as close to privacy as he could manage with Kankuro and Gaara standing there.</p>
<p>Gaara, it seemed, picked up on his hesitation, and gave him a small nod. “We’ll leave you alone.”</p>
<p>“We will?” Kankuro asked.</p>
<p>“You will,” Temari said firmly, and Kankuro huffed out an annoyed breath, but he turned away with Gaara and the two brothers disappeared into the village. She gave Shikamaru a slightly subdued smile. “Hopefully see you in a few months.”</p>
<p>“Yeah.” He ran his hands up her arms. “I’ll miss you.”</p>
<p>“You better.”</p>
<p>He snorted. “I always do.”</p>
<p>“Good.” She leaned into him, pulling him close for a strong embrace.</p>
<p>Shikamaru hugged her back, taking the time to push his nose into her hair and breathe in deeply, wanting to imprint the moment into his mind. She shifted in his arms, moving just enough find his mouth with her own, and Shikamaru let her kiss him as much as she wanted. It didn’t feel like long enough, before she pulled out his arms, checking the sun again, and saying softly, “Bye, Shikamaru.”</p>
<p>He really hated hearing her say that. For one wistful moment, he envisioned a life where he didn’t have to listen to it, where they lived in the same location, and the thought almost banished the sadness he felt. He curled his fingers in her hair.</p>
<p>He knew he wouldn’t be able to pry a response out of her with his team within earshot, but he said anyway, “I love you.”</p>
<p>It had the desired reaction, a bright, slow smile spreading across her face, and she stared honestly into his eyes, which he knew was her way of saying the same thing.</p>
<p>With great reluctance, he stepped away from her, and the desert heat felt almost unbearable. “I’ll write you a letter as soon as I’m home.”</p>
<p>Her smile softened a fraction. “I’ll watch for a hawk.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>They stopped on the Fire country border for the night.</p>
<p>Shikamaru settled against a tree, ignoring his team as they milled around and chatted loudly. He dug his fairy tale book from his pack, and flipped it open. Temari had made notes throughout the book, adding in details, putting in little stories, little thoughts that she’d had.</p>
<p>He found her favourite story, and she’d noted as such, with a dorky smiley face and slightly more hurried letters, <em>Here’s the best one!</em></p>
<p>He chuckled under his breath, and paged onwards, more interested in little glimpses of Temari than the stories themselves.</p>
<p><em>This one scared the shit out of me as a kid</em>, Temari’s note proclaimed, and Shikamaru smiled fondly. It was hard to imagine anything scaring Temari.</p>
<p>Her notes were varied and expressive, ranging from: <em>What kind of logic is this? </em>and<em> Next time you’re in town I can show you a place like this </em>to<em> We have these plants! </em>and<em> This is the dumbest story I’ve ever heard.</em></p>
<p>It felt like she was there with him, and they were reading through the stories together.</p>
<p>He smiled fondly, paging idly through the book, wanting to see which stories she had written more for, and which ones clearly didn’t interest her much.</p>
<p>There was an envelope tucked into the back pages, and Shikamaru pulled it out curiously. Temari’s handwriting was unmistakable on it, cryptically stating, <em>Happy birthday, Shikamaru. Apparently Kankuro was watching us.</em></p>
<p>He tore the envelope open, shaking out whatever was inside. A single photograph fell onto his lap, and he turned it over.</p>
<p>It was him and Temari standing on the top of the sand dune, hands entwined and silhouetted against the vibrant orange of the setting sun.</p>
<p>It was at roughly that moment that he realized he didn’t want to have to say goodbye to her anymore. He didn’t want to have to wait months between seeing her. He didn’t want to wait at all, ever again. He just wanted her around, all the time.</p>
<p>With a heavy sigh, half melancholy and half hopelessly in love, he closed the book, closed his eyes, and started thinking. He had entertained the thought before of ‘I want to spend the rest of my life with you’, but at the time he had put it aside and vowed to focus on it later.</p>
<p>That time, apparently, was now.</p>
<p>Because he wanted to see her the way she looked in Suna, completely herself and completely at home.</p>
<p>He wanted to wake up every morning with her.</p>
<p>He wanted to go to sleep every night with her.</p>
<p>He wanted to cement a future with her, because there wasn’t one without her.</p>
<p>He knew he had a few months before he would see her again.</p>
<p>He needed to spend that time considering this whole marriage thing.</p>
<p><em>This is going to be troublesome</em>, he thought. Already, he could see obstacles springing up, not in the least being that he had no idea how she felt about the idea. But thinking was his specialty, and planning was something that came easily, and for once he had something he desperately wanted, and if it took years to puzzle through, that was okay. He would figure it out. He would make this happen.</p>
<p>Months or years from now, when he had considered everything, he would make sure he had a future with her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
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